Before leaving our study of this chapter, it needs to be noted that, from the time of creation, through the time of the Flood, through the forming of the nations, to the time of Abraham’s calling, and throughout the rest of the Book of Genesis (chapter 1 through chapter 50), God is referred to as God or Lord or Almighty God in each and every chapter, except for three. Understandably, he isn’t mentioned in Genesis 36, which is nothing more than a list of Esau’s descendants. However, all references to the Lord are absent in Genesis 34, concerning the defilement of Dinah, Jacob’s daughter, and once more in Genesis 37, where the sons of Jacob sold Joseph, their brother, to a band of merchants on their way to Egypt.
It seems evident that Jacob’s ten sons evidence a callousness toward their father, who, although he isn’t perfect, treated his sons much better than they treated him. Moreover, they don’t seem to have a sense of value for the Abrahamic Covenant. Their hearts, as it pertains to God and his promises, are never more clearly revealed, than in their treatment of Joseph. They show very little regard for themselves, as God’s covenant people.
Although Reuben didn’t know how he was going to explain what occurred to Jacob, the other brothers had a plan, and without coming clean and telling Jacob the truth about what happened, he found himself forced to comply with his brothers’ plan. They took Joseph’s coat of many colors, which Jacob had made for him, and, after they had slain a lamb, they dipped the coat in its blood. Afterward, they sent the coat to their father, probably by one of the servants with them. They also sent an explanation, implying they hadn’t seen Joseph, but they found this coat and asked, if this was the same that he had made for Joseph, leaving their father to draw his own conclusions (Genesis 37:31-32).
Jacob, immediately, recognized the coat and presumed that a wild animal had come upon Joseph and devoured him. Then, he tore open his clothes in the anguish of his soul and mourned for his son many days (Genesis 37:33-34).
An interesting point about these events is that Jacob automatically assumed that Joseph’s death was due to a wild animal. If, indeed, the defilement of Dinah (Genesis 34) had already occurred, why didn’t Jacob automatically assume Joseph had fallen prey to men seeking revenge for the slaying of the men of Shechem? Indeed, why was a local resident of Shechem so helpful to Joseph in his search for his brethren (Genesis 37:15-17)? These things simply don’t make sense, in the context of the defilement of Dinah occurring after Joseph was sold into Egypt.
A better explanation, in as much as I am able to tell, is that Jacob journeyed to Shechem and sent for his sons at Dothan for a further explanation of what had occurred to Joseph. While he waited for them to come in from the fields (Genesis 34:5), Dinah was defiled. Moreover, if Jacob was already in mourning of Joseph’s death, it seems to fit his passive behavior in Genesis 34. Moreover, the already guilt-ridden brothers might also be more apt to overreact and do what they did in Genesis 34, in an effort to prove their commitment to their family, in an effort to make up for their wicked behavior toward Joseph.
So, the sons of Jacob and his daughter rose up to comfort him, but he refused their efforts, saying he would go to his grave mourning his son, and he wept (Genessis 37:35). Meanwhile, the Midianites had taken Joseph to Egypt and sold him to Potiphar, a high official in Pharoah’s court. He was the captain of the guard (Genesis 37:36).
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